A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
by SPRACE's Illegitimate Child
Summary: Racetrack Higgins hated camp. Adding Spot Conlon into the picture only made matters worse. SPRACE, BLUSH


**Author's Note:** This fic came about after I spent four days at boy scout camp (I know I'm a girl...don't ask. Well...you can ask...if you want.) I had had an idea to do a camp fic before that...but I wasn't really sure of anything that was going to happen in it. But while I was at camp, it was a total muse explosion. This is the result. Well...the first chapter of that result, anyway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Newsies. Disney does. Just liek they own everything else in the world...

**Warnings:** SLASH, and mild language. But I guess that depends on what you consider mild...

**Pairings:** SPRACE (Spot/Racetrack), BLUSH (Kid Blink/Mush)

* * *

Anthony 'Racetrack' Higgins hated camps. And yet, there he was- sitting on that big white bus, as he had been every summer since he was six. And why? The only logical reason could be just that. It was simply routine now. He'd pack his bag, board the bus, and disappear for four weeks. Mush and Blink had always done the same. Jack used to come, too. But this year was different. Jack was now too old, and would not be joining them. But he'd be spending a lot of time with David. Racetrack was sure of that. David never liked camp either, something about hating bugs. But Racetrack's reasoning was different. What he hated was the whole..."camp experience" - the perky counselors, the childish activities they were always forced to do, and the entire concept of camp itself. Taking a bunch of teenage boys and throwing them into the middle of nowhere wasn't exactly Racetrack's idea of a good time. And if it weren't for the other boys, he would have stopped coming a long time ago.

"Race!" A curly-haired boy came running down the aisle towards Racetrack and settled himself in the seat in front of him.

"Heya, Mush."

"You excited about camp?" Nick 'Mush' Myers was, for lack of a better word, the happiest boy Racetrack knew. Sometimes he wondered how anyone could be that happy all of the time. But he was certainly a nice person to have around in situations such as these where Racetrack needed any happiness he could get.

"I dunno if 'excited' is the right word." Mush chuckled and tussled his hair. The bus came to a stop and the doors opened. Racetrack didn't look to see who had boarded, but it wasn't necessary; Mush made it quite obvious. He promptly stood up and threw his arms around the boy. Couldn't be anyone other than Louis 'Kid Blink' Ballatt.

"How ah ya, Kid?"

"Not too bad, Mushy." The blond, eye-patch clad boy turned to Racetrack for the first time. "Hey, Race. Excited for camp?" No thinking was required this time.

"No." Kid Blink laughed and plopped into the seat in which Mush was previously settled. Mush did the same next to him.

"Ya think we'll get someone new dis yeah, or do ya think maybe we'll get to have a cabin jus' de three of us?"

"Well, Mush, let's hope dat if we _do_ get someone new, it will be someone we can stand." Kid Blink laughed.

"Well, Race, aren't you de optimist?" Racetrack rolled his eyes.

"Jus' wake me when we get dere." Blink and Mush shrugged as Racetrack laid his head against the back of the bus seat, and they continued onto their own conversation, discussing what camp would be like. They were quite obviously, very happy to see each other.

* * *

By the time the Manhattan bus arrived at the camp that would be their home for the next four weeks, the boys were anxious. And obviously late; everyone else appeared to have arrived already. The bus pulled through the small yellow gates, and Kid Blink punched Racetrack in the shoulder.

"Ow! Hey, what's the big ideah!"

"Race, we're heah, get up." The dark-haired boy rubbed at his eyes and stood up to leave. All of the boys flooded outside onto the dirt ground, all trying to locate their bags in the monstrous pile before them. Racetrack didn't understand why they couldn't have just sat _with_ their luggage. Mush's bright yellow duffel stuck out from the rest, and he had it out in no time. But by the time the other two boys had found their things, everyone else was already receiving cabin assignments. They ran towards the group, just in time to hear their own names being called.

"And in Deckenbach, we have: Higgins, Myers, Ballatt, and Conlon." The mouths of Racetrack, Mush, and Kid Blink dropped open.

"Conlon? They couldn't mean...Conlon as in...Spot Conlon? Could they?" The surprise in Mush's voice was evident.

"And we havta share a cabin wid 'im? What a great start to da summah..." And you would have to have been deaf, dumb and blind not to notice the sarcasm in Racetrack's voice.

"Hey, at least all of us ah still togethah." Leave it to Mush to be finding the good in everything.

"It won't be so bad, Race. Whaddaya got against Spot, anyways?"

"I ain't got nothin' against 'im, Blink. But he's a bit of a cocky little bastahd ain't he? 'Sides, de three of us've been sharin a cabin fah yeahs, and now we gotta bring in someone new?"

"Well, it ain't 'is fault he got put wid us. We jus' got moved dis yeah 'cause Jack got too old to come anymoah." Racetrack nodded, silently surrendering.

"I know. But did it havta be _Spot Conlon_?"

"What's so bad about Spot Conlon?" The three boys turned around to face the familiar voice. There stood Spot Conlon- arms crossed and a displeased smirk on his face.

"Uh...hey, Spot!" Mush, almost excitedly, stepped toward the intimidating boy. Spot only nodded in response.

"Long time, no see, Spot." The Brooklyn boy stared silently at Kid Blink. He gave each of them a once-over before he spoke again.

"So youse got a problem wid me, Race?" The Italian boy met Spot's gaze for the first time, and he was somehow at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say?

"Who says I got a problem wid ya, Spot?"

"_You_ did. I believe you called me a...'cocky little bastahd' was it?" The two boys next to Racetrack tried to stifle their chuckles.

"You...you heard dat?" Spot raised his eyebrows and held his stance.

"Ise been standin' behind ya da whole time." Mush and Blink exchanged wary glances. Racetrack, almost innocently, smiled and Spot retreated. "Anyways, it looks like Ise sharin' a cabin wid the three a' youse." Once Mush could see that Spot was no longer threatening, he was back to his normal happy self.

"So Spot, is dis yoah first time heah? I ain't nevah seen you heah befoah." Spot returned to hostile.

"I think you jus' answered your own question." Mush bit his lip and nodded, taking a step back. Kid Blink didn't appreciate the attitude Spot was showing his best friend.

"Hey, Spot jus'...lay off a little, will ya?"

"You got somethin' ta say...Patchy?" Kid Blink thought for a moment, then looked at Mush, who shook his head.

"No." Spot chuckled a little and turned to Racetrack.

"Youse been pretty quiet there, Race. 'S a mattah? Cat got yoah tongue?"

"Just a little surprised ta see ya heah, Spot. Dat's all." Spot picked up his backpack and threw it over his shoulder.

"Where's Deckenbach?" Kid Blink and Mush pointed behind them towards the woods.

"Just keep walkin'...it's a long way." Spot lightly sighed and began to walk past them, slamming his shoulder into Racetrack's as he did. Race seemed unaffected at first, but as soon as Spot was gone, he placed his hand to his throbbing shoulder and sucked in air through his teeth.

"You okay, Race?"

"Ow."

* * *

They weren't kidding when they said it was a long way. Spot had been walking for twenty minutes before he even caught sight of the cabin.

"Figures they'd stick me out in the middle of nowhere." Dust flew when Spot forcibly opened the wooden door. He coughed and swatted at the air in front of him. He threw his things onto the floor and plopped himself onto one of the top bunks. Hands behind his head, he lay there for a while, enjoying the silence. But it didn't last long. The door swung open, and there were now three voices filling the room. One of them Racetrack's.

"Figures Spot'd jus' dump 'is stuff and leave." Spot let out a small exasperated sigh, rolled his eyes, and hopped down from the bunk. It surprised the hell out of Mush, who was unaware of Spot's presence. He jumped back, stepping on Kid Blink's foot.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, Kid! Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry!" Kid Blink, though still holding his foot from the pain, laughed at Mush's over-apology.

"It's okay, Mushy! I ain't gonna die from havin' my foot stepped on." Mush smiled and turned to Spot, who was intently watching Racetrack, who was fiddling with a cigar and looking at his feet. All four just stood like that for a moment, before Mush decided to break the awkward silence, albeit with some eventual bad news.

"So! Um...Spot! I know you've nevah been ta dis camp befoah, so... would you like us ta show you around?" Spot looked at the curly-haired boy. He was almost amused with how...happy and upbeat he was. He then looked at Kid Blink, who raised his eyebrows, and at Racetrack, who lit his cigar, but spoke before putting it in his mouth.

"Whaddaya say, Spot? 'S bettah den gettin' lost or somethin', huh?" Spot contemplated for a mere second.

"Yeah, shoah. Why not?" Mush smiled and threw each of his arms around Spot and Kid Blink. He led both of them outside, Racetrack trailing behind.

"So. I guess the first thing youse gonna wanna know is dis: They don't let you go nowhere without yoah partner."

"Partner?"

"Yeah...it's a buddy-system type deal they got goin' heah. For safety purposes, they say."

"So...who's my partner?" Mush and Kid Blink looked at each other before answering in unison.

"Racetrack." Spot immediately stopped walking. Racetrack, who had obviously not been paying attention, crashed into his back.

"Watch where yoah walkin'!"

"Mush, you didn't tell me I was gonna be paired with _Spot_."

"Well, Race, what'd you expect? You know you gotta have a partner in yoah cabin, and me and Kid ah gonna be parters, so...all dat's left is you two'se."

"Can't ya switch or somethin'?" Kid Blink certainly wasn't pleased with the idea.

"Me and Mushy've been partners every yeah since we was what...six?"

"Actually, Kid, we was only five." Spot gave Mush a sour look.

"Youse been comin' heah fah ten yeahs?"

"Yeah...I guess that's about right."

"Why?" All three boys exchanged glances, and Racetrack just shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know." Spot almost laughed, but quickly returned to the matter at hand.

"So, Race. Looks like you're stuck with me for a month." Racetrack nodded his head.

"Looks like it." The two boys looked at each other, just nodding. "You got a problem with dat, Spot?"

"Not at all."

* * *


End file.
